Chores
by Moonpumpkin
Summary: "I hate them, James," Sirius whispered. "I hate them so much." Sirius shows at James' house one afternoon, and James has a fairly good idea why.


Chores, James decided, were invented by adults to keep their children occupied and out of trouble. Translation: to make sure they never had any fun. Ever.

James sighed. He couldn't wait until he was of age and could use magic outside of school. Then he would be able to finish his chores in minutes and spend more time on important things such as Quiddich, pranks, and obsessing over Lily Evans.

James filled up a watering can with tap water, smiling dreamily as he fantasized about Lily. She was perfect in every way, with her fiery hair, emerald eyes, brilliant smarts, witty tongue, compassion, and… complete and utter loathing of James' guts. He groaned and shut off the tap. Hauling the now heavy watering can toward the front door, he grumbled, "She can find it in her heart to stand Snivellus, but won't speak two civil words to me…"

James wrenched the door open and jumped when he laid eyes on a person unexpectedly sitting on his steps. His heart pounded in his ears and only began to calm when he realized, much slower than he would ever admit, what exactly he was seeing.

To his credit, he had never seen Sirius look quite like he did at that moment. Sure, he had seen Sirius roughed up after the full moon or a duel with Slytherins, but even then he was vibrant, full of energy. He was one of those people who could never stop moving, and Remus had regularly banished Sirius from being near him when he was doing homework because his restless hands, feet, or legs were distracting. But sitting on James' front porch, Sirius sat perfectly still, almost lifeless. He hadn't even turned at James' arrival.

Closing the door and setting down the watering can, James gingerly made his way to sit next to Sirius, careful not to startle him. Upon closer inspection, James saw that Sirius' normally sleek and tidy hair was mussed and sticking up in odd places. His complexion, while usually pale, was sickly white. Dark bags surrounded red-rimmed eyes that stared off into nothingness. His shoulders collapsed forward in exhaustion, and James noted that Sirius was not completely still; he was picking at his fingers, a nervous habit that he was embarrassed by but could not seem to shake.

"Sirius?" James started softly. Sirius did not respond, but James was sure he'd heard him. "How long have you been here?"

Sirius continued to stare straight forward. "A half an hour," he replied, lips barely moving.

James furrowed his brow in confusion. "Why didn't you knock?"

"I was still debating whether or not to."

Sirius' monotone answers were beginning to worry James. Something had clearly happened, but Sirius was trying to hide it, just like he always did. It was a continuous battle that they fought. While James, Remus, and Peter didn't cry and talk about their feelings like girls, they were still able to express their thoughts when something was bothering them and ask for help. Sirius had been raised to only show the emotions he wanted others to see. He was too proud to ask anyone, even his closest friends, for help. The other Marauders constantly had to fight tooth and nail to find out what he was really thinking. Presently, Sirius was trying extra hard to keep his composure. James knew that a relentless, direct approach was the only way to get answers. "What happened, Sirius?"

"Nothing. Just fancied a walk."  
James struggled to contain a growl of frustration. "That's bullshit and we both know it. We live kilometers from each other. What happened?" Sirius' face remained stoic, and he still refused to even glance in James' direction. The silence stretched on, and James knew that Sirius was trying to think up a convincing lie. Deciding to beat him to it, James searched his brain to come up with an explanation. And then it hit him; all of Sirius' problems stemmed from the same place. "It was your family, wasn't it?"  
This had the desired effect. Sirius tensed up and turned his face away from James, but not before James caught his blank expression turn tortured. "What happened with your family, Sirius? Did they do something to you?" From Sirius' ragged appearance and lack of response, James could tell they had.

And suddenly James knew why his friend was at his house. It was painfully obvious. "You ran away." It was not a question. James knew it was true. Sirius slowly turned his head to look James in the eye. He gave a small nod. "Like, for good?" Another nod. James hesitated, unsure what to say or do. Sirius had talked of leaving for a long time, but now that he had, James could only think, _What now?_ "Isn't that a good thing?" he managed. Sirius shrugged. James sighed exasperatedly. "Sirius, please," he pleaded, "you have to talk to me. What happened? What made you leave?"

Sirius lowered his gaze to his fidgeting hands. Taking several deep breaths and trying and failing to start more than once, he finally whispered, "Regulus is a Death Eater."

James was momentarily stunned. He knew that this new Voldemort guy was getting stronger and gaining supporters, but the war had never seemed so real to James until that moment. People were choosing sides, showing their true colors. James knew that most Slytherins supported Voldemort, but he never considered the idea that they might work for him. "How…how long has he…" James drifted off, unsure how to say it.

"Dunno," Sirius mumbled. "Doesn't matter. He's one of them now." James opened his mouth to respond, but Sirius growled out, "It's all my parents' fault! Reg… he was a good kid, a really good kid. He had the potential to make something of himself, but…" Sirius broke off, panting. James waited patiently for him to continue. Sirius needed to rant, needed to vent; otherwise it would stay locked up inside him forever. "They poisoned him, James. They-they pressured him to be the perfect pureblood son, pressured him to be everything I wasn't. He was always such a people-pleaser, and he couldn't help but try to make them proud, and now look where it's gotten him! He's a Death Eater! My baby brother!

"What if I have to face him in battle?" Sirius looked desperately at James, but James did not have an answer for him. "I can't kill him, I just can't. He's my brother."

"He wouldn't kill you, either," James found himself saying. "He may be a Death Eater, but you're still _his_ brother."

Sirius pondered this a while before nodding, seeming to accept it. Sighing, he pushed his unruly hair back out of his face, revealing a dark purple bruise surrounding his temple. James winced, but decided not to comment. Yet. "When I found out, I flipped. Usually I keep pretty low-key in the summer so that my parents and I don't have to deal with each other, but… I don't know what came over me. I was just… so, so angry. At him, at them, at myself for letting it happen.

"My parents and I got into a fight over it. It was worse than usual. My mother was screaming louder, my dad hit me a couple times." James' expression darkened as the pieces came together clearly. That was where Sirius had gotten his bruise from. Sirius either didn't notice James' change in demeanor or chose to ignore it. "And my brother just stood watching, refusing to help. So when my parents finally left me alone, I just… ran."

Sirius was staring intently at his hands again. They were shaking. He was wringing them almost painfully, picking at the loose pieces of skin surrounding his nails. One of them was bleeding, but Sirius did not seem to either notice or care. James glanced at Sirius' face again. His expression had iced over again, guarded. He was hiding something. "What aren't you telling me?" James pushed gently.

Sirius froze for a second before wringing his hands even more. He blinked several times in succession, as if forcing tears back. "Crucio."

Though Sirius had said it in a whisper, the word rang, reverberated in James' ears so loudly that his vision went white momentarily. He had to remind himself to keep breathing, to stay with Sirius instead of marching over to Grimwald Place and strangling the Blacks. The shaking in Sirius' hands had spread into his shouilders. James had never seen his friend like this. Sirius was always the confident, strong, independent one of the group. Never in his five years of schooling had James seen Sirius so visibly distressed.

"I hate them, James," Sirius whispered. "I hate them so much."

James considered this, and decided that it was not true. He would not tell Sirius, but it was clear that his friend did care about his family; he would not have been so upset otherwise. So instead, he replied, "I'm just glad you got out of there."

Sirius ran a shaking hand over his face and through his hair. He gulped audibly and regarded James with wide, overly bright eyes. "Yeah, but what am I supposed to do now? At least when I lived with my parents I had a roof over my head, food, clothes, money… I don't have anything now. When I left, I didn't think to bring anything with me. My clothes, school supplies, homework, broom, toothbrush, photographs, everything is still in Grimwald place. If I hadn't had my wand in my pocket, I probably would have left that there, too.

"I don't know how I'm going to afford to get all of that. I don't know where I'm going to live. I don't have any money to pay rent. I don't even know if I have to pay to attend Hogwarts, do you?" Without waiting for an answer, Sirius continued. "I'm not ready yet, James! I've only just turned sixteen! I don't know the ways of the world or what I'm supposed to do or where I'm supposed to go! James, I…" Sirius' voice faltered. "I feel so lost, Prongs."

James mulled over Sirius' words silently. His friend really could be daft sometimes. "Well, we know that my clothes fit you since you steal them all the time, so you can borrow them until you get new ones. I'm sure we have extra toothbrushes and toothpaste. I'm taking all the same classes as you, so you can copy my homework, not to worry. Between Pete, Moony, and I, we have doubles of most of your photos, so we can make copies for you. As for your school supplies and broom and where you're going to live, just wait until my parents get home and we can straighten it all out." Sirius looked at James disbelievingly. "What, you thought I was going to let you live anywhere else?"

"James, I-I couldn't possibly impose like that—"

"Shut up, you nutter," James interrupted. He stood, brushing off the dirt on his pants, and then extended his hand to Sirius. Grinning, Sirius clasped his hand in James' and hauled himself up as well. "Come on, then. Let's get something to eat. Then maybe you could help me with my chores so that they'll be done faster and—"

Sirius lazily threw his arm around James' shoulder, and laughed, "Not a chance, mate."


End file.
